PM Modi's chair shaking, he has started attacking his own friends: Congress
New Delhi (PTI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chair is "shaking" after three phases of the Lok Sabha polls as he has started attacking his own "friends" and this shows the "real trend" of the result.
His remarks came after the prime minister during an election rally in Telangana said the Congress should explain to people why it has stopped raising the "Ambani-Adani" issue as its "Shehzada" used to do for the past five years and asked if it has struck a "deal".
"The times are changing. Friends are no longer friends…! After the completion of three phases of elections, today the prime minister has started attacking his own friends. It is becoming clear that Modiji's chair is shaking. This is the real trend of the results," Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.
At a poll rally in Telangana's Vemulavada, Modi said, "Ever since elections have been announced, these people (Congress) have stopped abusing Ambani-Adani. I want to ask from Telangana soil, let the Shehzada announce, how much has been lifted from Ambani-Adani. Has tempo loads of notes (currency) reached the Congress? What deal has been arrived at, that abusing Ambani-Adani has stopped overnight."
"Certainly something is fishy. For five years, (they) abused Adani-Ambani and it stopped overnight. It means you have received some tempo loads of 'chori ka maal' (loot). You have to answer the nation," the prime minister further said.
After PM's attack, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the tide of this election has turned so "violently" that the "Pappa" of "Hum Do Hamare Do" is turning on his own children.
"Defeat is a foregone conclusion. The prime minister is now spooked even by his own shadow," he said in a post on X and shared a picture of Modi along with his shadow.
The Congress leader said, "The man who collected Rs 8,200 crore of Electoral Bonds for his party - a scam so egregious that even the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional - is today levelling allegations on others."
"Remember that through his 'Chaar Raaste', the prime minister has given contracts and licenses worth Rs 4 lakh crore to his cronies in return for their donations. If today, 21 Indian billionaires have as much wealth as 70 crore Indians, it is all thanks to the PM’s intentions and his policies. It also goes without saying that 'Hamare Do' are key figures in those 21," Ramesh claimed.
He said that since January 28, 2023, the Congress party has repeatedly demanded the formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to investigate the "Modani scam".
"We reiterated this demand even after the elections began – on April 23, 2024, and just five days ago, on May 3, 2024. Since April 3, 2024, Rahul Gandhi has mentioned Adani 103 times and Ambani more than 30 times in his speeches.
"A JPC will be formed as soon as the India alliance comes to power on June 4, 2024, to investigate the Modani Scam - which has an estimated price tag of at least Rs. 2 lakh crores," the Congress leader said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi said the prime minister knows that people now understand the reality that he has handed over all wealth to big businessmen and he is now clarifying after getting nervous.
Another party leader Pawan Khera said that PM Modi is disturbed after three phases of elections and realises that the ground is shaking. He claimed the prime minister has collected Rs 8,200 crore from his "friends" and when he was losing the polls, he has turned against them.
"When you cannot be theirs, how can you be ours or anyone else's in the country," he posed, adding the Congress does not fear anyone or anything.
Congress leader Supriya Shrinate said the prime minister is making serious allegations of corruption against the two big industrialists and asked when would a CBI, ED or Income Tax raid happen against them.
The Congress has been attacking the Modi government, accusing the prime minister of favouring the top five industrialists in the country, including Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani.
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Gopi Thotakura becomes 1st Indian space tourist on Blue Origin's private astronaut launch
Washington, May 19: Gopi Thotakura, an entrepreneur and a pilot, on Sunday became the first Indian to venture into space as a tourist aboard Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin’s NS-25 mission.
Thotakura was selected as one of the six crew members for the NS-25 mission, making him the first Indian space tourist and the second Indian to venture into space after the Indian Army's Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma in 1984.
Blue Origin's seventh human flight, NS-25, lifted off from Launch Site One in West Texas on Sunday morning, the company announced on social media.
This mission was the seventh human flight for the New Shepard programme and the 25th in its history. To date, the programme has flown 31 humans above the Karman line, the proposed conventional boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space.
New Shepard is a fully reusable sub-orbital launch vehicle developed for space tourism by Blue Origin.
According to Blue Origin, "Gopi is a pilot and aviator who learned how to fly before he could drive."
He co-founded Preserve Life Corp, a global centre for holistic wellness and applied health located near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
In addition to flying jets commercially, he pilots bush, aerobatic, and seaplanes, as well as gliders and hot air balloons, and has served as an international medical jet pilot.
A lifelong traveller, his most recent adventure took him to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
Andhra Pradesh-born Thotakura is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Other crew members of the flight include Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol Schaller, and former Air Force Captain Ed Dwight, who was selected by President John F Kennedy in 1961 as the nation's first Black astronaut candidate but was never granted the opportunity to fly to space.
The rocket booster landed safely a couple minutes prior to the capsule, CNN reported.
During the mission, the crew soared to more than three times the speed of sound. The rocket vaulted the capsule past the Kármán line, an area 100 kilometers above Earth’s surface that is widely recognized as the altitude at which outer space begins — but there’s a lot of gray area, the channel said.
At the peak of the flight, passengers experienced a few minutes of weightlessness and striking views of Earth through the cabin windows, it added.
During the flight, each astronaut carried a postcard to space on behalf of Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future.
This programme gives students access to space on Blue Origin’s rockets, including an all-digital method to create and send postcards. The Club’s mission is to inspire and mobilise future generations to pursue careers in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) for the benefit of Earth.
From an environmental standpoint, nearly 99 per cent of New Shepard’s dry mass is reused, including the booster, capsule, engine, landing gear, and parachutes.
New Shepard’s engine is fuelled by highly efficient liquid oxygen and hydrogen. During the flight, the only byproduct is water vapour with no carbon emissions, the company earlier said.
Blue Origin released the NS-25 mission patch. A few of the symbols embedded include: The Gemini spacecraft represents Dwight’s aerospace training era. The hand lifting of the crew capsule is a nod to his extensive artwork.
The sunrise represents Angel and Schaller’s desire to experience the overview effect. The mountains symbolise Schaller, Thotakura, and Chiron’s passion for climbing and skiing.
Jeff Bezos’ space company had paused its suborbital tourism programme following a liftoff malfunction of the New Shepard rocket. In September 2022, an uncrewed flight of New Shepard ended in flames around a minute after liftoff.
